Fall Apple & Sage Meatloaf
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8 slices
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb sweet italian sausage (casings removed)
  • ¾ cup bread crumbs (or gluten free alt)
  • ⅔ cup 2% milk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1½ cups peeled & diced green apple
  • 1 cup diced white onion
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp california garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped + 3 whole leaves for garnish
  • 2 tbsp liquid aminos (or low sodium soy)
  • 1 tbsp worchestire sauce
  • 1 tbsp ketchup + 1 tbsp for outside
  • 1 tsp coarse black pepper
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ cup sharp white cheddar slices + 2 tbsp shredded cheddar
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400.
  2. First in a large bowl combine your ground pork and sweet italian sausage, set aside.
  3. Next in a small bowl or cup mix your bread crumbs and milk together. Allow breadcrumbs to soak for 10 minutes and set aside.
  4. Next in a medium sized pan over medium heat add your butter. Melt and heat. Add your minced garlic and saute until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  5. Add your diced green apple & white onion. Cook until onion is almost translucent, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add your garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger and chopped sage leaves. Stir until fragrant, about a minute.
  7. Remove mix from heat and stir in your liquid mains, worchestire sauce, 1 tbsp ketchup, coarse black pepper and kosher salt. Set aside
  8. Next in in the large bowl of pork/sausage, add your soaked bread crumbs and beaten egg. Begin to mix together and then add your apple & onion mix.
  9. Using your hands mix until all ingredients just come together (you don't want to over do it here, but you also want to make sure the meat and the bread crumbs are not in massive chunks.
  10. Once mix has come together, line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
  11. Place ½ of your mix into a loaf pan. Add your cheddar slices down the middle of meat mix, making sure to leaven a ½" of meat surrounding the cheese (this way the cheese doesn't fully spill out when baking)
  12. Add the remainder of meatloaf mix on top and pack together. Add a piece of foil on top and turn over the meatloaf pan onto the baking sheet.
  13. Place meatloaf (still covered w/ pan and onto of lined baking sheet) into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  14. Lower oven temperature to 385 and remove baking sheet w/ pan from oven and very carefully (not to burn your hands) remove the bread pan from the meatloaf. Gently shake the pan if need be. Loaf should remain in perfect shape.
  15. Next dress the exterior of the partially cooked meatloaf w/ ketchup and sprinkle with the 2 tbsp shredded cheese and garnish with sage leaves (optional).
  16. Place meatloaf back into oven for another 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
  17. Remove loaf and pan from oven, let sit for 10 minutes and then slice and serve.
Recipe by My Lavender Blues at https://mylavenderblues.com/fall-apple-sage-meatloaf/